I am a Passionate curator, a writer and a wife.
I'm a visual story teller and to me, events are an art form.
I'm a follower of Christ and I wish to share his Grace.
I am a designer and a logistical perfectionist.
Coupled together, I've been crowned a "mighty mouse."
Here I share my heart.
Genuine in passion. Crafted in love. Authentically me.

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What if I told you that you that the things you don’t want to happen throughout your wedding planning likely will?

That the things you hear from your friends wedding experience and vow “will never happen to you” probably will?

Before you stomp your foot or X the heck out of here saying, “who does this woman think she is?!”, let me first explain why…

The truth is, everyone has ideals and expectations when they first begin wedding planning. But as things start to progress, hiccups will arise.

If you’re not careful, they can steal your joy and your focus from the things that matter most: your love, your relationships and the marriage waiting on the other side of “I do.”

Instead, be prepared for the realities of wedding planning, and ready to handle them like a pro.

1. You will get stressed out

In the beginning, it’s fun and games. Everything is new and exciting. But while you may be thrilled now at the thought of spending every waking moment planning, you’ll eventually run out of steam… and motivation… and pep. Things add up and the task lists are long, so confusion and feelings of being overwhelmed are bound to set in.

• Set aside planning days each week where you’re committed to working on wedding to-do’s. Also be sure to block off down days, where you simply enjoy each other, your friends and family apart from wedding talk. Living real life will only inspire your wedding plans.

2. You will have to compromise

Your fiancé and you will likely have different ideas about how your wedding should play out and what you each value as most important. Rarely will you be entirely on the same page.

This past summer I was honoured to be asked to speak at Weddingful’s Industry Night on their experts panel.
The focus was on sharing our approach to customer care and business/ marketing advice for other professionals seeking success in the World of Weddings.

There’s no greater place to learn than from those who have been in the trenches beside you, right?!

While the quality of the video sucks, [unfortunately the event was not professionally recorded. Thanks hubby for trying!] I truly believe there are some valuable takeaways for those who are blessed to work in the business of weddings.

3 Habits for Finding Success in Business

Photo courtesy of Matt Kennedy Photos

1. Authentically Share Your Story

Story telling is an important part of communicating who you are and what you can offer your clients. The key however, is sharing openly and honestly your own journey and the heart for what you do and why. Don’t just share the sparkly moments, but the hard and challenging seasons also. That’s how clients relate to you on a deeper level and know that the things that matter to them, genuinely matter to you.

2. Find Success with Google

Blog consistently and not just about the behind- the-scenes of your business, but on content that people actively seek out and search for, such as free resources, guides and tools. Every once in while, produce content that reaches a wider audience than just your direct target market.

3. It’s What you Don’t say, not What you Do!

When meeting with potential clients, listen more than you speak and when you do, speak confidently, but without arrogance or pride in your tone or manner. Be sure not to demean others or speak ill of any professionals in the industry, be it gossip, for “innocent” comparisons sake or by name dropping. Rather than impressing them, it breaks the clients trust and earned respect.

Are you a creative professional or entrepreneur in the wedding industry?

I’d love to hear how you’ve found success in business. Share by commenting below!

Many years ago God put a stirring in my heart; one that focused on helping couples prepare for so much than a wedding day, but for a marriage, even more beautiful than the wedding I was planning for them.

I wanted them to savour every moment of the experience celebrating the things and people that mattered most to them.

But I didn’t start there; my heart didn’t always sing this tune.

It wasn’t until my own wedding that I began to see my “work” as so much more than parties, organizing and making things pretty.

Isn’t that how God works most beautifully? Through our everyday experiences He reshapes, refines and grooms us to bring a message of light, hope and joy to the world, despite it many times being countercultural.

To allow me the opportunity to truly invest in my clients marriages, I slowly transitioned my business to predominately full service wedding planning. In the process, I was welcomed closer into my client’s lives and was intimately involved in their personal journey to the aisle.

More often then not, I became a trusted friend and the voice of reason when the road became rough and the planning got overwhelming….

A listening ear through family disputes, a reminder to focus on each other and not the show of it all, a helping hand when stress was all consuming, a wine buddy when they needed a break, shoulder to cry on when family became ill, even a way out in the wake of financial disaster.

I do not take such experiences lightly and it is a gift to be trusted into these moments alongside my clients, as not only their planner, but as their friend. It’s moulded by heart and shaped my passion more than anything else I’ve experienced in business.

Because the more we walk through life with others, the more precious and beautiful they become to us.

I now see hearts and not bookings. Marriages and not Parties. Friends and not profits.

And more than ever, I want every couple to experience true joy in planning their wedding and preparing for a lifetime of blessings as one!

It was an answer to prayer and divine appointment when I met Donna and Nouver of Wakefield Productions for the first time last Spring. We spent hours cozied down at a local coffee shop, where we mutually shaped our hearts and passion for so much more than weddings, but marriages and the couples we know we’ve been trusted to serve… and serve well.

Before leaving, they shared with me their desire to film my story and bring my message to life through video.

When I saw the final product, tears rolled down my cheeks.

So much more than a “promo video,” [which is why I hesitate to even call it that]

this mini- film is about sharing the honest and sometimes messy parts of our stories, so that other will be liberated to seek and find what matters most in life.

I don’t think I could have asked for more from this 3 minute film in sharing my own journey… to faith, to marriage and my core in business.

When it came to their reception, Sonia wanted to embody cozy elegance with an understated touch of vintage whimsy. She wanted guests to feel welcomed by an intimate setting similar to that of a dinner party thrown in their backyard, while being serenaded by childhood memories conjured up by the use of heirloom china dish ware and grandma’s mason jars.

While vintage, with “Martha crafted” accents, the dinner tent was sophisticated and polished in appearance.

Big on making people feel special, Sonia + Andy included a wedding photo of every married couple in attendance. Even myself and the Nickersons, their photographers! It was such a delight while unpacking and setting up to see that even her vendors mattered and were thought about.

Not big on traditional wedding cake, they chose to feature a smorgis board of sweet treats and fancies. But my personal favourite touch, was the late night cookies and milk which were passed around on trays.

And then there was the Piñata Smash! Yes, you read me right. In our conversations, Sonia + Andy shared their love for this childhood tradition. Knowing their less than favoured feelings toward a wedding cake, I took a risk and suggested this outrageously fun wedding cake alternative. They jumped on it like little kids to candy!

While the photos are hilarious, you have to watch the magic unfold. These two are engineers and if we learnt anything that night, it’s that you don’t let two A-type builders create anything that needs to be broken. It took nearly 30 minutes to crack the piñata open, not without a gaggle of laughs and a sweat worthy workout on Andy’s part!

The night finished with the wildest of dance parties thanks to Side One Band. Their guests, young and old partied well into the dawn.

“We are in awe of how meaningful and moving our day was. You gave that to us!”

It’s hard to express into words how you truly made all our dreams for our wedding come true … and more!!! We are continually in awe reflecting back on how wonderful the day was and most importantly, how meaningful and moving it was. We cannot thank you enough for that and for everything you did to make that happen. I understand (after the fact) that there was quite a bit of drama on the day trying to figure out the weather and what would be best but (in another testament to how wonderful you are) I was oblivious to it!! All I saw and experienced was the love, emotion, and beauty of the day and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving that to me and to us. Everything came together even better than we could of dreamed, so thank you, thank you, thank you!

-Sonia Hennum | Bride [September 22, 2013]

Many thanks again to the incredible professionals who came together to make this celebration happen: